calibrate
to determine, check, or rectify the graduation of (any instrument giving quantitative measurements).
to divide or mark with gradations, graduations, or other indexes of degree, quantity, etc., as on a thermometer, measuring cup, or the like.
to determine the correct range for (an artillery gun, mortar, etc.) by observing where the fired projectile hits.
to plan or devise (something) carefully so as to have a precise use, application, appeal, etc.: a sales strategy calibrated to rich investors.
Origin of calibrate
1Other words from calibrate
- cal·i·bra·tion [kal-uh-brey-shuhn], /ˌkæl əˈbreɪ ʃən/, noun
- cal·i·bra·tor, cal·i·brat·er, noun
- re·cal·i·brate, verb (used with or without object), re·cal·i·brat·ed, re·cal·i·brat·ing.
- un·cal·i·brat·ed, adjective
Words Nearby calibrate
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use calibrate in a sentence
It adapted measures every seven days to calibrate the blow to the wounded economy.
As infection rates rise, Europe embraces a ‘lockdown lite’ strategy | kdunn6 | September 24, 2020 | FortuneSo your default position might be that you should use all of that data to calibrate your estimates of uncertainty, rather than to try to predict under which conditions polls might be more or less reliable.
Our Election Forecast Didn’t Say What I Thought It Would | Nate Silver (nrsilver@fivethirtyeight.com) | August 17, 2020 | FiveThirtyEightInstead, they take to the streets when they think something is going seriously wrong in the city—and particularly in its carefully calibrated relationship with Beijing.
Also, we’ve found that FiveThirtyEight’s models — including our election forecasts since they were first published in 2008 — have been well calibrated over time.
How FiveThirtyEight’s 2020 Presidential Forecast Works — And What’s Different Because Of COVID-19 | Nate Silver (nrsilver@fivethirtyeight.com) | August 12, 2020 | FiveThirtyEightYuriy Boykiv, the president of DentsuX, said that while some fashion brands are “still calibrating” their spending, spending on digital and e-commerce have increased.
‘The Italians are back’: Fashion advertising roars back to life for publishers | Max Willens | July 22, 2020 | Digiday
As a result of this book it is now much easier to calibrate the nature, range, and methods of the mogul.
Murdoch on the Rocks: How a Lone Reporter Revealed the Mogul's Tabloid Terror Machine | Clive Irving | August 25, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTYou do that to a certain extent with performance capture by the way you calibrate the model of Caesar—or the rig, as we call it.
Motion Capture Maestro Andy Serkis on ‘Dawn of the Planet of the Apes’ and Revolutionizing Cinema | Marlow Stern | July 8, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTI am here to correct and calibrate your morale compasses to true north.
Rogue L.A. Cop’s Facebook Manifesto: ‘You Will Now Live the Life of Prey’ | The Daily Beast | February 8, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTThere may be a lesson for the Obama administration as it tries to calibrate what Israel will do on Iran.
Israel's Secret Iran Attack Plan: Electronic Warfare | Eli Lake | November 16, 2011 | THE DAILY BEASTStill, the committee urges the United States to more carefully calibrate its policy toward Pakistan.
A house, or some such landmark which is shewn on our trench maps, is usually chosen to calibrate upon.
Three years in France with the Guns: | C. A. RoseHow would you know that the weights you used to calibrate your scale were really what you thought them to be?
Letters of a Radio-Engineer to His Son | John MillsIt would be more correct to calibrate it in units of air pressure.
The Aeroplane Speaks | H. Barber
British Dictionary definitions for calibrate
/ (ˈkælɪˌbreɪt) /
to measure the calibre of (a gun, mortar, etc)
to mark (the scale of a measuring instrument) so that readings can be made in appropriate units
to determine the accuracy of (a measuring instrument, etc)
to determine or check the range and accuracy of (a piece of artillery)
Derived forms of calibrate
- calibration, noun
- calibrator or calibrater, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for calibrate
[ kăl′ə-brāt′ ]
To check, adjust, or standardize a measuring instrument, usually by comparing it with an accepted model.
To measure the diameter of the inside of a tube.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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